I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electric street light assemblies and, more particularly, to the main power terminal block for such electric street lights assemblies.
II. Description of Prior Art
Conventional electric street lights often come as a completed assembly to be mounted above the ground, such as on a pole. The power conductors running up through the pole may then be attached to the light assembly wiring and circuitry. To facilitate such attachment, a main power terminal block may be provided. These main power terminal blocks are quite large and bulky, and typically include an insulator block that supports two or three electrical connectors, one for each power conductor. Each conductor includes at least three parts, a base, a washer and a screw. The power conductor is squeezed between the washer and base by rotating the screw threaded therethrough. One or two spade lugs extend from the connector base to receive spade lug terminals wired to the lighting circuitry.
The connectors used in these main power terminal blocks are typically expensive to manufacture, and do not always provide the desired power connection. For example, the base is typically thicker than the spade lugs. Consequently, multi gauge brass is required. This is accomplished by milling or skiving the area of the spade lugs to reduce thickness, thus increasing the cost thereof.
Still further, it is quite common that large gauge power conductors, such as up to six gauge, might be passed up through the light pole to connect to the electric light for powering same. Such large gauge conductors present difficulties in connecting to the above-described connectors. To overcome such problems, it has been typical to provide a separate block connector having a main block and an extending plate, and which is to be mounted to the original connector. The plate is captured between the washer and base of the original connector requiring the added labor of removal and reinsertion of the screw. The main block has an aperture into which the conductor may be received with a set screw or the like passing through the block to secure the conductor in place.
While the additional block connector makes it easier to attach large gauge conductors to the main power terminal block, significant cost is added both in terms of labor and in terms of material. Additionally, the block connectors are normally of aluminum with the set screw being steel, thus presenting a variety of different metals in the terminal block, which may present additional difficulties in the environment in which these main power terminal blocks are employed.